


Twilight Fic Outtakes

by audreyii_fic



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Genderswap, Outtakes, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-09
Updated: 2012-07-09
Packaged: 2017-11-09 12:32:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/455496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreyii_fic/pseuds/audreyii_fic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drabble outtakes/continuations for my fics "The Definition of Want", "Pieces of the Memories", and "Boys with Girlfriends".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Pancakes, Kleenex, and 90s music  
_

**[set in the future.[Definition of Want](419662/chapters/699243)!verse. Humor. Rated R.]**

**  
**

* * *

 

"Wooo see gahdahn onna teeteer?" Lee sang off-key, bouncing around the kitchen in her footed pajamas.

Bella glared. "I'm going to kill Leah," she said, brandishing her spatula at me.

I dove out of my chair to catch Lee before she skidded into the cabinets. Lifting her clear off the ground by the back of her shirt, I brought her to eye level and gave her what I hoped was a serious look. "No more running, missy," I said firmly. This is what came of giving a three year old too much maple syrup.

Lee grinned at me as she dangled, her face covered in flecks of her breakfast. "Seespeek ellkent leeeee, hava baybee-"

"I thought you were going to talk to her," Bella grumbled, flipping over another set of pancakes.

"I did. It didn't work."

"Well, why didn't you tell me?"

_Because you're ten weeks pregnant and fuckin' hormonal and you cry whenever you get bad news?_ "Sorry, honey, I'll try again."

"You better."

When Bella had presented our firstborn to Leah three days after Saralee's birth, shyly pointing out that we'd added her name to my mother's, Leah had scoffed at both the idea of combining names ("Yeah, that's _totally_ original, Bella") and at the name itself ("Are you going to name your next kid Hostess?"). Then she'd poked at the baby for a few minutes, declared herself unimpressed ("Bring her back when she's interesting") and walked out.

She'd called me two days later. ("If you all are looking for a fucknight, I could take the sprog off your hands for a few hours. You're such a pain in the ass when you don't get any.")

Leah had watched Lee every Friday evening of her entire life. I was happy with this arrangement, since I _was_ a pain in the ass when I didn't get any, but Bella had never been a fan of Leah's unorthodox childcare methods. Like the time Lee had come home chewing on a CD case (which turned into her favorite teething toy). And as far as Lee was concerned, the sun rose and fell with Auntie Leah.

This, though, was admittedly a bit beyond the pale.

"Never again," Bella said, setting down a giant stack of pancakes in front of me and taking Lee out of my hands. "Not _ever._ C'mere, you're a mess." She pulled a handful of Kleenex out of her robe and swiped at Lee's face. "I'm not saying Leah has to play Raffi or something, but _Alanis Morrisette?_ "

"I have no explanation," I said, pouring syrup over my plate. Actually, I did - Leah liked to get under Bella's skin. But I _definitely_ wasn't going to say that for, at minimum, forty-five weeks - around the time Bella's post-partum wore off from the next one.

"Ahbeh seemek neksellen muher," Lee sang, trying to wriggle away from the Kleenex.

I kind of loved Saturdays.


	2. Chapter 2

**faerysprl** : ex in the middle of the night under the christmas tree. / **arysani** : "I can't do this with Little Drummer Boy watching." (Maybe it's on tv, maybe it's an ornament?) / **_argustar** : Finding the time for a quickie between getting the kids' presents from "Santa" ready and the kids actually waking up. / **mera_naam_joker** : Ooh, yes please! I'd love to see it include creative use of garlands and/or strings of Christmas lights. ;-)

 

* * *

 

**_In which Jacob is tired and gets distracted by a Christmas ornament._** _  
[[Definition of Want](../../419662/chapters/699243)!verse. Romance/Humor. NC-17.]_

_  
_

* * *

 

"Jake? Can you pass me the tape?"

I glanced over at the coffee table, where the scotch tape lay just outside of my reach. "It's too far away," I whined.

"Jacob. Pass me the tape."

Generally speaking it was best not to argue with Bella when she used that voice. I grabbed the tape and handed it to her quickly; within seconds, another box was wrapped perfectly. "Which one was that?"

Bella looked down at the present and cocked her head to the side. "I don't know," she said finally. "I forgot. I think it's for Lee."

"Oh, shit. Are you sure?" If the name on the tag said Saralee, but the gift was actually for Charlotte... Fuck, it would be way too early in the morning for a fight that epic.

"Maybe I should unwrap it and check."

" _No,_ " I said quickly. "Just put 'From Santa' on it and let them figure it out themselves."

Bella rubbed a hand across her eyes wearily. She was sitting cross-legged in front of the Christmas tree, surrounded by bits of wrapping paper and ribbon. "Yeah, you're right. The hell with it."

"Of course I'm right. Now leave the rest of those and come get some rest." It wasn't like I didn't like Christmas. I wasn't a Scrooge or anything like that. But it was one in the morning, and the (much loved, really) little monsters would be jumping up and down on our bed in approximately three hours. "Please, honey? I'm tired."

"I've still got three more to go." Bella glanced over her shoulder at me and the tree lights reflecting off the ornaments tinted her hair pretty colors. I smiled. My wife was exhausted and crabby and still the best thing I'd ever seen. "You can go to bed if you want, I'll be in soon."

"Nah, can't sleep without you." I slid off the couch and pushed the wrapped presents under the tree. "C'mon, quit wrapping. We can save these three for their birthdays or something."

Bella shook her head and reached for another roll of snowflake-printed paper. "No, I can do it. I'm almost done, really." I pouted as she turned away and tore off another strip of scotch tape.

Well. I'd learned years ago that was always one surefire way to make Bella fall asleep. "This would've gone faster if you had let me help," I murmured as I sat down behind her.

"Yeah, I know how good you are at wrapping presents. Stick to flushing transmissions, Jake."

"Ouch." I wrapped my arms around her waist and tugged her gently backwards into my lap, my fingers pulling apart the sash on her threadbare robe. (She wore pajamas underneath these days. I considered this a tragedy.) As she leaned back against my body, I pressed tiny kisses against the curve of her jaw.

Bella let out a breathy little moan that had me hard in about five seconds. "You're trying to distract me," she mock-scolded as she settled further into my lap.

"Yep."

"That's not fair."

"Yes it is."

"No, it's not," she whispered as she pulled her robe off without turning to face me. I slid my fingers under the hem of her pajamas, brushing my thumbs across the soft skin of her stomach. Twelve years since I'd first gotten my hands on her and I still couldn't keep them off. The rest of the pack couldn't figure out how we did it. (Except for Leah, who was a legend in her own right for leaving a trail of broken hearts in her wake; she just found the whole thing really funny.)

I let out a rumbling hum as Bella ground her ass against my groin, and she glanced nervously in the direction of the hallway. "They're asleep, honey," I murmured, pulling my hands out from under her shirt just long enough to unbutton the front. "Don't worry."

Bella still seemed hesitant, so I quickly palmed her breast, plucking my fingers against her hardening nipple. She hissed, and I knew I had her. "Okay. But we have to be really, really fast."

"I can do that." An instant later I had her flat on her back, yanking away her cute little boy shorts as she pushed my sweat pants off of my hips. I let out a very un-manly whimper when she dragged her nails up my bare back to pull my hair out of its ponytail and fist her fingers tightly against my scalp.

I'd honestly thought it would take longer to get her warmed up, but once we were naked Bella was making needy little noises and arching against my body impatiently. "Fuck, c'mon," she moaned quietly, hooking her legs over my hips. (My Bells, who lectured me about saying 'hell' in front of the kids, had developed an incredibly filthy mouth during sex. I loved it.)

I couldn't stop myself - I pulled away just a little and gave her a smug look. "So, when you said we had to be fast... were you talking more about how long we should take, or how you'd like me to fuck you?"

Her fingers tightened in my hair. "Both," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Now fuck me - fast - or I'm going to hit you and go back to wrapping presents."

Well, who could say no to a demand like that?

This position was still a bit of a trick, given our relative heights, but leaning back on my knees made a big difference. Bella swore again and I groaned as I sank inside her, _wet_ and _soft_ and the best place in the entire world to be. Then I started to move - fast the way we both were craving - and when she clapped her own hand across her mouth to keep herself quiet I had to look away before I flew to pieces.

My eyes landed on one of the ornaments Renee had given us a few years ago; I winced and stopped thrusting instantly. "Bells, I can't do this with Little Drummer Boy watching," I said, nearly going soft on the spot. Ugh. Creepy little thing.

Bella glared at me, then looked up at the ornament. With one quick movement she reached up into the Christmas tree, ripped Little Drummer Boy right off the branch, and tossed it over her shoulder. It landed somewhere past the armchair. "There," she said. "All fixed."

I grinned. "Thanks. Now, where was I?"

"Here." She lifted her hips and ground herself against me, and shit did it feel good. Any temporary distraction I'd suffered disappeared instantly. "You were here."

"Right. I remember now."

"Good." Fast. Had to go fast, but I knew Bella's body _very_ well, and I could get her off in a hurry when I needed to. I shifted to support myself with one arm so I could reach between us to rub my thumb against her firmly, pounding away rough and hard the way she always liked because she hated careful and never wanted it that way and then her body was shaking against mine and pulling me in and she nipped the side of my throat with her teeth because she knew how to get me off just as fast as I could her and holy fuck I would _never_ get tired of this, not _ever_...

Once I could breathe again, I tried to lower myself down to kiss my beautiful, flushed, very naked wife - and something pulled sharply at my scalp. "Ow! Fuck!"

Bella glanced behind me and smothered a laugh. "You're caught in the Christmas lights, hold still." I tried not to move as she reached behind me; a few gentle tugs at my hair later and I was able to lean against her shoulder with a sigh of relief. She stroked my back with a happy hum. "I like this position," she murmured.

"Me too," I said, yawning. "Feels good."

"No, I meant for looking up at the tree." She nodded upwards; the red and green of the lights shone in her eyes. "It's so pretty from underneath. Looks bigger than it is. Like a forest. A forest full of fairies."

I suppressed a smile. I pretty much loved all Bellas, but post-coital Bella was my favorite. "Fairies. Mm-hmm."

"Let's travel to Yosemite or something this spring. A place with really, really big trees. Maybe we'll see some fairies, you never know."

"Uh-huh. Do you believe in fairies, Bells?"

"Well, I liked Peter Pan when I was growing up."

"Okay." I kissed the crook of her neck, struggling to keep my eyes open. God, it was late. "We'll see some big trees and look for fairies next year, I promise. Can we go to bed now?"

Then the worst possible thing happened.

"Mommy?"

Thanks to my still-enhanced speed capabilities and the fact that Bella had never entirely gotten her robe off, both of us were kind of sort of mostly decent by the time five-year-old feet padded around the corner. "Mommy? Did Santa come?" Lee asked, her hair sticking every direction. At least I didn't hear any crying from Char's room.

"Not yet, sweetie," Bella said quickly as I stepped in front of the tree to block the view of the presents. "Go back to sleep."

"Nooooo, I wanna wait up..."

"If you wait up, Santa won't come. You know how it works."

Lee turned her wide, imploring brown eyes to me. "Daddy, I wanna wait up."

"Nope." (I was admittedly a huge pushover for my daughters, so Lee couldn't be blamed for trying, but I was way too tired at that point to be convinced.) "Back to bed. Don't get up until the first number on the clock reads eight."

Lee gave me a severe, very Bella-esque look. "It's when the first number reads _five_ , Daddy."

"Well, it doesn't read five right now, so go back to bed," Bella said firmly, turning Lee around and steering her back towards her room. "Besides, Santa hasn't eaten your sandwich yet."

I winced.

"Is he gonna like this one?"

"Oh, yes, sweetie. I told you, Santa _loves_ weird sandwiches."

After I heard Lee's door close, I sighed and examined the glass of milk and the sandwich the girls had left out on the side table next to the tree. Most parents got cookies... Still, there was no getting around it. I took a bite.

Ugh. Tuna fish and Skittles.

Bella came back into the room as I was swallowing my third mouthful; her face fell. "Damn it!"

"Gonna have to do better than that, honey."

She narrowed her eyes as I downed the milk in one gulp. "I'm going to tell the girls the Easter Bunny likes sandwiches, too."

"I still think it's cheating to use our offspring to do your dirty work. If you can't win this bet on your own-"

"Shut up and come to bed." Bella turned on her heel and stalked down the hall to our bedroom. I smiled and followed, prepared to get every moment of sleep I could before morning came and Christmas officially got underway.

And post-coital Bella always slept soundly.


	3. Chapter 3

_**In which Jacob texts a lot and Santa does not bring a baby.**  
[[Definition of Want](../../419662/chapters/699243)!verse. Total goopy sugar-y fluff. PG-13.]_

_  
_

* * *

 

"Jacob," my father said, his _Knock It Off_ tone in place, "quit wearing holes in the carpet."

"Can't. I should never have agreed to this." Then, finding a _fabulous_ place to focus my temper, I wheeled on Billy and snapped, "This is all your fault. You should have gone. Or Charlie!"

Billy held up his hand and ticked off his fingers. "First, this is by definition _your_ fault, not mine. Second, under no circumstances will I have anything to do with this process aside from the final product, once it has been de-slimed. Third, Charlie would be a worse wreck than you. Now sit the hell down, son, before I throw something at your head."

Saralee looked up from her book - seven years old and reading _The Hobbit_ \- and said, "It's not Dad's fault, Grandpa. It's _hers_." She leveled an evil look at the person attached to my neck.

Charlotte - three years old and in a stage of _epic_ clinginess - just hid her face in my neck. I shifted her weight onto my left arm, dug into my pocket with my free hand, and pulled out my cell for the sixth time in ten minutes. **whats going on?** I texted.

A thirty second pause, then: **It's an alien. Green skin and one eye. You'll love it anyway, right?**

I groaned. Charlotte clung harder. Billy and Lee smirked at each other.

Bella had gone into labor two weeks early. We had been slowly working Charlotte up to the idea that she would be staying with Grandpa while Mommy and Daddy were at the hospital, but when we tried to drop the kids off at my father's at five in the morning, Char screamed and cried and clung to me like a limpet. Finally Bella had said, grimacing against the contractions: "Just stay here. I'll worry too much if she's alone like this."

So I stayed. My wife was having a _baby_ and I was _not there_. And neither Charlie nor Billy would go; they'd gotten what Bella would call 'stupid man looks' when I suggested it. Renee was still in Florida. And I couldn't bear the idea of Bella being alone. _I_ needed someone to be with her. Someone I trusted.

The phone buzzed. The display, once again, read _Leah Clearwater_. **Bella says she hates you and you're never getting laid again.**

Well, at least things seemed to be on schedule.

"Boy or girl?" Billy demanded.

"Nothing yet," I said.

Billy huffed. He and Charlie had a hundred dollar bet riding on this.

"Who cares?" Lee said, turning a page. "It'll scream and cry either way." She glared again at Char.

"Don't be mean to your sister," I said automatically. I tried to sit down, but Charlotte whimpered when I did, so I stood right back up.

Really, I wanted to pace anyway.

 

* * *

 

Since I didn't have free use of my hands, Billy whipped up lunch. I shook my head as he deposited heaping globs of Kraft Macaroni 'n' Cheese on to four plates. "That's healthy," I remarked sarcastically.

"It's the Christmas season," he retorted. "No one eats healthy in December."

I rolled my eyes, but Char looked up from my shoulder for the first time in an hour, peering over at the mounds of bright orange. "I want noodles," she said.

"You have to get down if you want noodles."

That was the wrong thing to say. Char shook her head and immediately hid her face again. I sighed, then maneuvered past the Christmas tree - managing by divine intervention not to trip over the lights - and sat down at the table with her perched on my lap.

Lee ate one-handed, still not looking up from her book. "Dad, can I have mithril for Christmas?"

"What?"

"No," said Billy. "Mithril is very rare and expensive." I gave him a confused look, and he whispered, "Just go with it."

I loaded up my fork and held it in the direction of my throat, hoping that Char wouldn't jump and impale me. It had been well over a decade since I'd last phased and I had no idea if I still had any healing capabilities. "Take a bite," I ordered.

"Nuh-uh."

"Yes."

"No!"

"You didn't eat breakfast."

"'Mm not hungry!"

"You just said you wanted noodles!"

"I don't!"

I didn't have any hands free to rub my forehead. "I'm not going to make you get down, sweetie. Just turn around and take a bite, okay?"

There was a long, uncertain pause. Then Char turned her head and snagged the mouthful of macaroni like a striking snake before ducking back to my shoulder. I felt her chewing against my collarbone.

"You _sure_ you want another one?" Billy asked.

"It's a little late now, Dad." I set down the fork and dug my cell out again. **whats happening?**

**It's twins. Congrats.**

I dropped the phone. Then I swore. Creatively.

Lee shook her head. "You're not supposed to say that. Mom'll be mad."

"Boy or girl?" Billy asked.

Both? "I don't know," I said shakily, trying to reach for the floor without passing out or dropping Char. I grabbed up the cell, but before I could text back 'Oh my fucking God' (or something to that effect), it buzzed again.

**Just kidding.**

I gritted my teeth and managed to type **u r not my best friend anymore** without breaking the keypad.

**You're so easy. Bella says hi, btw.**

**tell her i love her.**

**You two are gross.** Another short pause, then: **She says it's still just you and your right hand for the rest of your life.**

"Is that Mommy?" Char said, looking at the phone. Thank God she couldn't read yet.

"No, it's Auntie Leah," I said. "But Mommy's okay, and she said she loves us all very much."

Billy snorted. "Sleeping on the couch, huh?"

I did rub my forehead that time, and Saralee said, "You've got cheese on your face, Dad."

 

* * *

 

_The Muppet Christmas Carol_ had finally coaxed Charlotte out of my arms and onto the couch. She molded herself against my side, but at least my biceps were getting a rest. Kid was getting heavy.

Lee and Billy were playing checkers on a tray he'd set up on the wheelchair. "Do you think," Billy said conversationally, "that Santa's brought your little brother or sister yet?"

" _Please_ , Grandpa, I'm not a baby," Lee said. She made a move on the checkerboard. "Santa doesn't bring brothers and sisters. Vaginas do."

Billy's mouth dropped open, and I spat out a mouthful of orange juice. Char rubbed the juice out of her hair and didn't look away from Kermit.

"Um... where did you hear that, honey?" said my father.

_I_ didn't have to ask; I just went straight for the phone. **y the fuck did u tell lee about vaginas?**

This time the reply didn't come for a full five minutes. I wished I could believe it was because Leah felt ashamed, but I knew it my heart of hearts that it was because she was laughing too hard to text. **Well, she has one, doesn't she?**

**what the fuck, leah?**

**She ASKED. Not my fault she smelled bullshit on the Santa story.**

I shook my head. **u have to tell bella**

**Just did. She thinks it's funny.**

**ur lying**

**Nope, she loves it. Of course, they doped her up awhile back.**

My heart stuttered in my chest. **she needed drugs?** Bella had made it through the first two births naturally. What was wrong this time?

**Don't freak, she's fine. High as a kite. Keeps singing Eye of the Tiger.**

**ne progress?**

**They keep sticking their hands up inside her. She hasn't punched anyone. Quit bugging me.**

"Daddy?" Char looked up at me. "What's a vagina?"

 

* * *

 

By dinnertime, Lee and Char were sitting comfortably on the sofa together, sharing a bag of M&Ms and watching the Muppets _again_. At least they weren't fighting. They usually mellowed out later in the day.

"Okay," I told Billy, "that's it. They're fine. I'm going to the hospital."

"What am I supposed to do when they realize you're gone?"

"You raised three kids! You figure it out!"

"Your kids are _Bella's_ kids!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means they're weird!"

"My kids are _not_ weird!"

"Yeah we are," said Lee around a mouthful of candy. "Auntie Leah says not to worry about it."

"S'okay to be weird," Char added with great authority.

As I was trying to figure out what, if anything, was the correct parental response to that, the phone buzzed in my pocket. I grabbed for it and read: **9 lbs. 15 oz. 22". Bella's fine and real glad she had the drugs.**

I started to grin.

"Boy or girl?" Billy asked, trying to reach up for the cell.

**boy or girl?**

**Girl. Want me to tell her about her vagina, too?**

"It's a girl," I told Billy, before turning to my daughters - two of them, anyway. "You've got another sister!"

"Okay," Lee said, thoroughly uninterested.

"I want more noodles!" said Char.

"I win!" Billy ran over my toes as he rolled towards the kitchen. "I'm calling Charlie!"

 

* * *

 

"I don't know what to name her," Bella said, stroking the baby's cheek. She was still glassy-eyed; whatever drugs they'd given her, I kind of wanted some. "I thought for sure it'd be a boy."

"So did your dad," I said. "He's out a hundred bucks. Don't worry, we'll just name her Ephraim anyway."

"That's a boy's name."

"Who cares? Just call her Effie."

"We'll talk about it later."

"Sure, honey. Can I hold her?"

"Yeah, of course." Bella passed the bundle over with a sleepy smile. "You're the daddy."

I'd never get tired of hearing that. I really was a sap.

The baby was as groggy as Bella; she only yawned when I tickled her nose and pulled back the blankets a little. I was curious about how Bella and I had meshed up this time; she was a few shades darker than the other girls, and bigger than they had been, and she had smooth black hair. This one looked more like me than her mom.

Until she stirred and blinked at me sleepily. Uh-oh. Bella's eyes _again_. I was screwed. "Hey, there," I said to her. "I'm your dad. Sorry I wasn't here when you first showed up."

"I don't think she'll hold it against you," said Bella. She reached over and clumsily patted my thigh. "Where are the girls?"

"With Leah in the waiting room. She's letting them listen to her iPod."

"Will you thank her for me? I tried, but I'm not sure I was speaking English."

"No problem."

"We're never having sex again," Bella said.

I didn't even look up from the baby's face. Bella had said that for Lee and Char, too. It had only lasted five weeks. "Whatever you say, honey."

Bella's eyes started to drift close. "No more than three," she warned me sleepily. "All done."

"Sounds good to me," I said. "Kinda got my hands full, anyway." And, quite frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way.


	4. Chapter 4

**audreyii_fic** : I wanna write fluff!smut to cheer myself up. Someone give me a prompt.  
 **Mera Naam Joker** : Pieces!sex?  
 **audreyii_fic** : oooooh. Finally I can write some Pieces without crying!  
 **Mera Naam Joker** : We'll see.

_later..._

**audreyii_fic** : *sniffling* ...shit.  
 **Mera Naam Joker** : Told you.  
 **audreyii_fic** : And I couldn't even make them have sex on camera!  
 **Mera Naam Joker** : So it's fluff!smut that is neither fluffy nor smutty.  
 **audreyii_fic** : #fail

 

* * *

_[](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6910700/1/Pieces_of_the_Memories)_

_[](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6910700/1/Pieces_of_the_Memories)_

_[Pieces of the Memories](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6910700/1/Pieces_of_the_Memories)!verse. PG-13ish._

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* * *

 

Bella would kick Jacob out of her room if she weren't trying to soak up every last minute with him.

Near as Bella can tell, summer lasted about fifteen minutes. She'd watched British sitcoms with Leah (who somehow managed to compare Doctor Who to the principles of Machiavelli); she'd gone on fishing trips with her father and finally learned how to use a shotgun (she wasn't taking one with her, so instead he'd bought no less than four cans of pepper spray for her dorm room); she'd laid on the beach at La Push until she'd nearly almost kind of developed something resembling a bit of a tan.

And, of course, she'd been with Jacob every day. In more ways than one.

But the months disappeared in a flash. Tomorrow she is off to Evergreen State College, four hours away from everything she's ever known. And Jacob has spent the afternoon quietly (and Bella is pretty sure subconsciously) sabotaging her packing efforts.

It's getting frustrating.

" _No_ , Jake, don't put all the books in one box. Put half in one, then half in the other, and then clothes on top of each."

Jacob frowns and redistributes the paperbacks very, very, _very_ slowly. "I don't know why you need so many books, anyway."

"I have to read." Bella says it in the same tones she'd use to say _I have to eat._

"I know, but won't you be busy with homework and stuff?"

"I'll read when I wake up." And before going to bed. And during meals. Bella has never failed to find time for her books. Besides, in spite of all the school work, she's still got all the works of Tolstoy to go through. (Mrs. Hughes has insisted that she get her knowledge of Russian novelists up to snuff. It's unlikely that when Bella takes over the library many third graders will want to read Anna Karenina, but that has not stopped Mrs. Hughes.)

Somehow Jacob manages to unfold every one of her shirts as he adds them to the boxes. "Jake," Bella says, exasperated, "knock it _off_."

"It's not my fault your clothes don't fit with your books," he grumbles. His hair is falling into his face and hiding his expression. "If you'd just pack them separate-"

"I won't be able to carry the book box if you do that."

" _I_ could carry it if I came too."

Bella sighs.

She's not _not_ letting Jacob come to Olympia with her to help her move into the dorm. It's just that her father has dropped hints for months about how he'd maybe like it to be just the two of them. Bella suspects that this is because he's going to cry again and he doesn't want Jacob to see. (As though anyone doesn't know where she gets her waterworks from.) Besides... she'd kind of like to say goodbye to her dad privately.

Jacob has not seen it that way. But Bella is not interested in having that fight again. "Take a break," she says instead, tugging a stack of jeans out of his hands. "Go make a sandwich or something."

"I'm not hungry."

"You're _always_ hungry."

"I don't need a break, Bella!"

"Well," she finally snaps, " _I_ need a break! From _you_!"

There is a sudden, harsh silence - then Jacob is out the door in less time than it takes to blink.

Bella feels her throat close up, and she flops face down on her little bed, sniffling.

Half her tears are angry. It's not like _she's_ not going to miss _him_. He's not the only one hurting. _He'll_ still have Seth and Quil and Embry and all his other friends. _She's_ the one leaving home, to a totally new place, to live with a bunch of people she's never even met before...

...thinking about being all alone makes it hard to breathe. She tries swallows back her fear, but she's only partially successful. It's much easier when Jacob's there to help.

He's not going to be there, now.

It's _scary_.

A few minutes later she hears her bedroom door creak open, and a warm weight settles onto the mattress next to her. "Brought you something."

Bella looks up from the pillows. Jake's got a bowl of vanilla ice cream in his hands and a sad smile on his face. "I'm sorry," he says simply. "I'm a jerk."

"I'm not so pleasant myself," Bella admits. She rolls onto her side so that her stomach is pressed against his lower back. "I think we're both a little stressed."

"You're going to come back, right?"

Her fingers lace into his. "I'm going to come back," she assures him.

"You promise?" he persists.

Bella presses closer to Jake's back and squeezes his hand so tight her skin tingles. "I promise."

(It hasn't exactly been as easy as breathing between them, but with time and work a lot of their latent wounds have healed. Bella can now take the occasional harsh word from Jake without assuming he hates her; Jacob can accept that spending a few days without Bella doesn't mean he'll never see her again. But college is by far the biggest test of the trust they've slowly built.)

Jacob takes a long breath, then laughs shakily as he sets the bowl on the nightstand. "Shit, Bells, I am really gonna miss you."

"It'll be Thanksgiving break before you know it," Bella says. She means it to be cheerful, but her heart aches and Jake groans miserably. Thanksgiving is _months_ away. Trying again, Bella pokes him in the side. "Sorry, Jacob," she says with a half smile, "but you're not going to get rid of me so easily this time."

She's loved Jacob Black her entire life and she has no intention of stopping now.

An instant later her boyfriend's weight is nearly smothering her into the mattress. " _Better_ not," he grumbles, but his tone is a little lighter. "But I bet you won't be able to stay away long, anyhow."

Bella shifts slightly, rolling her hips. She can feel Jake's erection through his jeans. There are advantages to having a sixteen-year-old boyfriend. "I won't, huh?"

"Nope." Jacob's lips start brushing along the sensitive curves of her throat. " _And_ if you let me come visit, there'll be good things in it for you."

"Good things."

"Uh-huh. Like... an incentive program, kinda."

Bella glances quickly at the clock on the side table; her father isn't due home for at least half an hour. "I like incentives."

"These'll be really awesome ones." Warm hands span across Bella's ribcage, tugging up her shirt. "Promise."

Bella always flushes when clothes start to come off, even though _off_ is the way she wants them. "Show me?"

She can feel Jake's smile. "Sure."

 

* * *

 

Sports Center is on downstairs by the time Bella embarrassedly slinks out of the bedroom, Jake staying behind her as though her tiny frame could hide his. He'd had a _lot_ of incentives he'd wanted to show her, and they'd taken significantly longer than half an hour. The ice cream is long melted.

Her dad turns away from the TV when Bella steps on the squeaky bottom stair. She winces at the look on his face, but Jacob just says, "Hey, Charlie."

Dad grunts and reaches for the remote. Bella and her father have a strict _Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil_ policy when it comes to her relationship with Jacob. The unspoken agreement is to never burst Charlie's cherished illusion that his child is pure as the driven snow; Bella is pretty sure that she could give her father half a dozen grandchildren and he'd convince himself it was immaculate conception.

Bella's red as a beet, but at least Charlie must not have overheard anything. Otherwise he'd have his gun out.

She steers Jacob to the front door, and as she does the heaviness settles deeper into her chest. The last hour helped postpone the inevitable, but this is it.

Of course she starts to cry.

Jake's arms are instantly around her. "I'll drive up whenever I've got a weekend off," he promises. "Well, y'know, once I make the store actually _give_ me a weekend off sometimes."

That makes Bella cry harder. She hides her face in her boyfriend's chest; _he_ is always the one to freak out in the beginning, but _she_ is always the one who needs comfort at the end. "I don't want to go," she sobs.

"You're gonna be fine, Bells." The way Jacob strokes her head sends soothing signals deep into her body. "And we _will_ see each other. Incentives, right?"

She nods and gulps back her tears.

He kisses her more times than she can count, until finally there's a loud, pointed cough from the living room. One more fierce hug and a whispered "Love you, honey" into her hair, then Jake is gone and Bella thinks once again that Leah had gotten it right when they were five and said they should live in hollow trees instead of go to school.

Dad doesn't comment as Bella folds herself on the couch and tries to watch the Mariners game recap through blurry vision. He does, however, put an arm around her shoulders.

Eventually, though, after her tears don't stop, he sighs and says, "Billy got you a graduation present."

Bella blinks. "He did? Where is it?"

"With Jacob." Dad scratches the back of his neck. "It's one of those little laptop things. The one that has a camera, so you two can talk online and... whatever else it is you kids do. Billy said he didn't want to put up with Jake moping for the next four years. The kid doesn't know about it yet."

She is speechless.

"You're not supposed to know either," Dad continues, "so act surprised. Now stop crying, okay?" And his arm around her shoulder squeezes tighter.

Bella knows that even if the laptop came from Billy, this had to be her father's idea. "You're the best, Daddy," she whispers.

Dad blushes. "Yeah, well," he says gruffly, "don't worry so much, kiddo. Growing up doesn't always have to mean growing apart." His blush gets worse. "Or something. You know what I mean. I love you."

She kisses his cheek.


	5. Chapter 5

_Genderswap: Jacob's character is now a female, and Bella's character is a male (you figure out the names). You can switch the gender of the other Twilight characters if/when you like._

**_Little Crushes. Romance/Humor. PG. Set early Twilight.[Boys with Girlfriends](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7743817/1/Boys_with_Girlfriends)!verse._**

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* * *

 

Billy glanced up in surprise as his youngest daughter bounded through the front door. "I thought you were spending the day at the beach?"

"I changed my mind," Ruth said, tossing her braid over her shoulder as she pulled off her boots. "You said you're going to Charlie's, right?"

"Yes..."

"Well, I thought you might need some help. And I thought I'd check on the old truck. See if everything's still working fine. I mean, I better make sure."

Billy raised an eyebrow. He raised it for so long that Ruth finally looked away. "What?" she said defensively. "The transmission sticks."

"Uh-huh. And Lucas has nothing to do with this."

She blushed. "Of course not."

Billy was at a bit of a loss. Rachel and Rebecca had been girly-girls, but Ruth had been an incorrigible tomboy from birth. The twins needed fancy facial wash to remove their mascara; Ruth needed it to remove engine grease. The twins giggled about crushes from age eight; Ruth had made it to age fourteen without showing any signs of noticing the opposite sex.

Then Charlie's son moved back from Arizona and Ruth ran into him at First Beach. Now Ruth was turning six shades of red every time she heard his name, and she kept coming up with excuses to go to Forks, where Billy and Charlie would have to watch the younger girl make earnest, cheerful chit-chat toward the withdrawn older boy.

On one hand, Billy would rather his girl date Charlie's boy than, say, Paul Lahote (God forbid). On the other hand, Lucas was seventeen-and-a-half and Ruth was barely fifteen.

He seemed like a nice kid, if a little moody, but if Lucas laid a hand on Billy's youngest child then Billy would snap off that hand at the wrist.

Still. It was just a harmless little crush, right?

"Charlie's expecting us to be there with fish fry in an hour," Billy said. "If you're so worried about the transmission on the truck, you'd better grab your tool box."

Ruth's sunny grin lit up the room. "Okay. Okay, I'll get it." She spun around to dash back out the door, then pulled up short and glanced down at her threadbare jeans and tanktop. Both were crusty with sea salt. "Uh... maybe I should change first..."

"Maybe."

Billy pretended not to notice that Ruth bypassed her own door to duck into the twins' old room. He kept his mouth shut as he heard drawers slamming open and shut, followed by loud cursing that was most certainly the influence of Quil Ateara. And when Ruth came out fifteen minutes later, wearing one of Rebecca's silk blouses with a mismatched skirt and - of all things - _lipstick_ , he just said, "You're going to fix the truck wearing that?"

"Sure," Ruth said, "why not?" There was still a smudge of dirt on her forehead.

Billy managed to wait until her back was turned before he started to laugh... but he _did_ keep the laughter silent.

 

* * *

 

_(Explanation behind Ruth and Lucas: the Black family, for whatever reason, obviously tended towards traditional Hebrew names. I maintain Renee chose names based on soap operas.)_


End file.
